Department of History

Department of History

History has never been too kind to a group of early British Isle inhabitants referred to as the Picts, but the often mischaracterized, always mysterious people may serve as a historical laboratory to explore how the island's culture might have developed without Roman intervention, according to a Penn State historian.

Chinese rulers spent hundreds of years and sacrificed countless lives building a meandering 5,500-mile earth, stone, and brick wall along the country’s northern border, designed to keep invaders from attacking the empire. Meanwhile, tiny germs and bugs were one brick in a wall that restrained China’s own ambitions to conquer and incorporate parts of what is now called Vietnam and the empire’s other southern neighbors.

The rustic beauty of Pennsylvania's farmhouses, barns and outbuildings often strikes motorists traveling the highways that crisscross the rural heartland of the state, but few people realize the stories these buildings can tell us about the past -- and maybe the future -- of agriculture.

Historian Greg Smits' interest in earthquakes began in 2002, with a catfish. A book full of catfish, to be precise. That work has now culminated in two books released in rapid succession, the first a close look at the pivotal Ansei Edo earthquake and its enduring legacy, and the second tracing the broader history of Japanese earthquakes since the 17th century. Both volumes provide important context for the massive disaster that struck the country in March 2011, and whose impacts are still unfolding.

When Garrett Fagan was 12 years old, his mother put him under "house arrest" for the summer in his native Dublin, Ireland, and inadvertently created a classicist. Since joining the University faculty in 1996, Fagan has earned a reputation as a leading expert on ancient warfare and as an engaging teacher -- a scholar who approaches classical studies in a manner that helps us reflect on our own cultural issues.

Is there an item on the average household's dinner table so roundly scorned as the wintertime tomato? The plastic-like red globe is typically so barren of authentic taste and texture that it epitomizes the industrialization of food, says John Hoenig, a doctoral candidate in history at Penn State. Yet he points to that very same tomato as a symbol of victory — tangible evidence of Americans' success in transcending traditional patterns of seasonality in their diets.

Chalk it up to one of the many contradictions of modern life in developed nations: we cajole our kids into eating all the food on their plates "because children in poorer countries are starving" at the same time as we face a growing obesity epidemic worldwide. Is there really not enough food on the planet, or are we just wasting the food we have? Bryan McDonald, a Penn State assistant professor of history and author of the book Food Security, offers his perspective.

The nexus of energy, security and stability will be the focus of a discussion featuring expert practitioners and policy advisers from Penn State and across the nation. The forum, titled "Energy, Security and Stability: Implications for Security, Prosperity and Sustainability for the United States and our Allies and Partners," will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8, in Foster Auditorium at Paterno Library on Penn State's University Park campus. The event is free to the public.